For UFL players seeking a path to the NFL, history has shown that players who make an impact on special teams have the greatest chance for success. While kickers, punters, and long snappers were the norm initially, recently return specialists and special teams defenders are finding success.
Since the UFL’s inaugural season, the NFL team that has been the most friendly landing spot for UFL to NFL hopefuls has been the Detroit Lions. Currently, Detroit leads the NFL with six rostered players. Kicker Jake Bates, running back/return specialist Jacob Saylors, and wide receiver Tay Martin are active on the team’s roster, with TE Thomas Gordon, WR Lucky Jackson, and CB Nick Whiteside on the practice squad.
Bates, Saylors, and Martin have all found an important role on the Lions' special teams. During his media session this past week, Detroit’s special teams coordinator, Dave Fipp, talked about the contribution that these talented former UFL players are making.
Jacob Saylors -All UFL Team RB (St. Louis Battlehawks)
After several frustrating years trying to make NFL rosters as a running back, two-time All-UFL star running back Jacob Saylors finally found success in the NFL. Trying to compete in the NFL’s overcrowded running back rooms proved to be an exceptionally tough competitive landscape for a UDFA.
However, when the Detroit coaching staff looked at other avenues, realizing Saylors could be an asset as a return specialist, things began to gel. Saylors made his debut in Week 1 of the 2025 season against the Green Bay Packers, recording four kickoff returns for 92 yards, with an average of 23 yards per return. His longest was a 25-yard return, and his performance was strong enough to earn him the role for the remainder of the season.
As the Lions’ primary kickoff return specialist in 2025, Saylors appeared in 16 games and recorded 897 yards on 33 returns, ranking 7th overall in the NFL. In January of 2026, he signed a one-year contract extension with Detroit.
Earlier this year, Fipp said enthusiastically, “I love Saylors. I loved him a year ago. He came in and really helped us out on special teams.”
During the Lions' preseason, with star running back Jahmyr Gibbs on the sidelines, Saylors recorded 187 yards on 31 carries plus 5 receptions for 40 yards. In the Lions’ final preseason game, he was the designated RB1. Given an opportunity to show what he could do, Saylors had quite the day, recording 17 rushes for 100 yards.
Fipp sees Saylors as an under-the-radar talent who functions well in the dual role of return specialist alongside veteran wide receiver Tom Kennedy. The pair are dual-threat options as return specialists, with one catching the ball while the other blocks.
Explaining the strategy, Fipp said, “Yeah, I mean, that's the deal with the play nowadays is you have to have two guys back there. I mean, you can put one guy back there, and then he's got to cover the whole field, but usually you're putting two guys back there, and both of them have got to be able to return. If you don't feel good about one of them, that's probably where the ball's going to go. So, we feel good about both those guys being back there. They both have experience doing it.”
Tay Martin-Special Teams Playmaker (Columbus Aviators)
Columbus Aviators' wide receiver Tay Martin was one of only two UFL 2026 talents to make an NFL roster out of training camp. Dallas Cowboys' cornerback Ameer Speed (Houston Gamblers) was the other. Competing against three other UFL wide receivers, experienced NFL vets, and former Lions players, Martins’ prowess on special teams was what made the difference.
During training camp, when Fipp was asked who among the group of wide receivers jumped out on film, he didn't hesitate.
“So, Tay Martin's jumped off the film every day.”
Now, with two NFL games behind him, Martin continues to impress. In the first game against the New Orleans Saints, Martin made quite an impact. He recorded three solo tackles and delivered a punishing blow on punt returner Barion Brown that knocked him for a loss and pinned the Saints back on their 14-yard line. Afterwards, following the Lions’ 31-30 overtime win, Dan Campbell rewarded him with a game ball for his performance.
However, Fipp cautioned that Martin is no longer flying under the radar and things will get harder for him.
“Yeah, he did a nice job obviously, in the first game. The good thing about him is he's kind of a younger developing player. He hasn't played a lot, and so he's got a chance to continue to improve. Still ways he can play better for us, but obviously I was excited about him…But like I say, in this League, if you make plays like that, then what happens is you're just putting a bigger target on your back. And so now it's going to just get harder. It doesn't get easier. They devote more resources to slowing you down and schemes to help slow you down and block you. So we've got to kind of overcome some of that stuff as we go forward, but obviously a great job by him.”
Jake Bates-Expanding His Skill Set (Michigan Panthers)
Now in his third season with Detroit, one of the skills placekicker Jake Bates is working on perfecting is his ability to place the kickoff ball precisely in the landing zone. The 2026 Kickoff Rules dictate that balls dropped inside the landing zone must be returned. A player cannot move until the ball reaches the designated landing zone or end zone.
A ball that lands in the end zone is a touchback, with the return team taking over at the 35-yard line. However, any ball that lands out of bounds penalizes the kicking team, with the opposition taking over at the 40-yard line.
The goal is to kick the ball and have it land inside the opponent's 20-yard line without bouncing out of bounds or into the end zone, and forcing the return.
If done correctly, Fipp explained, “Yeah, obviously it can be a tremendous weapon, obviously if you can execute it 100 percent of the time.” But the difficulty of executing it perfectly is a challenge shared by every NFL kicker.
“So, you have to be able to get the ball on the ground and in the end zone or cover it and stop the guy short in order for it to really pay off, or never hit it short of the landing zone, which no team's really totally figured that out yet."
However, with so many kickers focused on nailing the perfectly placed kickoff ball on the ground, it can affect other elements of their game. Fipp explained that as a result of a kicker focusing so much on trying to improve his kickoff landing zone placement, has led to more blocked kicks.
He explained it accordingly, “There’s been more low field goals across the League or mishit balls where these guys are hitting a little bit higher on the ball on these field goals, and they're missing. And I think that's what you're doing on these kickoffs. You're hitting a little bit higher on the ball to keep it low and get it on the ground. And I think some of that's bleeding into the field goal kick for these guys a little bit all the way across the League.”
Bates suffered a little bit of a sophomore slump in 2025, converting 27 of 34 field goals with a longest of 59 yards and 54 of 56 extra points. One of his missed extra points was due to it being blocked, and two of his field goals were blocked. However, Fipp pointed out how Bates nails the crucial kicks that matter most. Explaining that when kicking field goals in the 40-yard range, Bates' conversion rate is well above the NFL average.
"He's exceptionally high. He's above average. And so he's done a nice job. He's missed three kicks underneath 50 yards, which is good. Now we want his numbers to continue to improve. We want his short kicks to get better, and his long kicks. He's six-for-six in clutch situations, and all six we've won the game. So, he's hit, I think, four game winners or what turned out to be game winners, and then two kicks to get us overtime, and then we won those two games too. And that's really the big number."
Bates has stepped up and delivered for his team when it mattered most.
He's not the only one. When it comes to players who are winning NFL games for their teams, quite a few came through the UFL to the NFL pipeline, including these former spring talents, who are already making a big impact for the 2026 Lions.